Now curved monitors are the same price as the flat screens of yesteryear

LG today launched three new gaming monitors: a 4k, flat, 27-incher, plus a pair of 23-inch ultra-wides – one curved, and one flat. The 27-inch 27UD88 is priced at $1,299, which is a bit steep considering the specs (more below), but the twin ultrawides’ are $1,499 – whether you choose flat or curved. We’re used to seeing curved screens command a premium. We see it in TVs, and until now, that’s also been true of PC monitors.

There is a subtle difference in specs, the 34UC88 has a pair of Thunderbolt 2.0 connections, while the otherwise identical 34UM88C relies on more standard connections.

Both have a screen resolution of 3440×1440, and an aspect ratio of 21:9. We think the vertical res of 1440 is just barely enough. The last gen of ultrawide screens only had 1080 vertical res, which is woefully inadequate, yet still many manufacturers are releasing screens at this spec, including Samsung, which recently announced a slew of gaming screens that we regard simply as unusable.

All three new LG screens use FreeSync.

As 2016 progresses, display tech rockets ahead. The next big thing will be Display Port 1.3, which will open up far higher refresh rates, as well as support for HDR, which is the next, next big thing.